The woman was undeniably beautiful. Her clothes emphasized her status; rich, famous and everything that Mari was not. She walked with confidence, modeling her clothes and body. It wasn’t the first time Mari was mesmerized by such a beauty but this woman was so beautiful she felt small standing near her.

She jumped right at Baekhyun before locking him in between her arms. She hugged him tightly, as if her life depended on him. Mari could already tell this woman’s an important person in his life. Far from what she’s not.  She let go of him, but held his hand tightly, not wanting to let go of it.

“Baekhyun! How have you been?” she cheerfully asked, raising her pitch higher than normal. She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her heels. How cute. She tucked a hair strand behind her ear as she looked up at Baekhyun.

As she stood in front of the both of them, her perfume scent wafted to her nose. It was an essence she was very familiar with. Victoria’s Secret Love Girl. It was the same one she uses. However, hers is probably the original while Mari’s is the inexpensive replica. And Mari guessed she must have put on. A lot.  As even if she was standing a meter away from her, the smell engulfed her nose too much to her liking.

Baekhyun’s voice shook as he spoke, “T-Tae-Taeyeon…” He froze as his jaw hang open as if he could not believe the person standing in front of him. Something personal was going on. The woman, identified by Baekhyun as Taeyeon, lifted her eyes to meet him. And Mari swore she saw glimmer in her eyes when she looked at him.

“Yes?” she asked, sounding very enthusiastic. Baekhyun grabbed her wrist and made a dash upstairs. Not even bothering to say a goodbye to Mari. He just left her, like a kite disappearing into the horizon. And Mari swore that there is a stinging pain in her chest that was crumpling her guts.

Is this what you feel when someone leaves you? An empty and longing sensation buzzed around her when she watched him taking this Taeyeon woman to his apartment. It’s as if his fever died down when he saw her. Wow, she must have been very special.

It’s been two days since a woman named Taeyeon, entered the picture. Or re-entered the picture, whatever, Mari didn’t know. And it’s been bothering Mari for the past days. Countless of questions flowed in her mind like an endless flowing river. However, these questions were left unanswered until now.

She hadn’t got the time to ask Baekhyun. She only saw him on the restaurant, as the manager. Not as Baekhyun outside of his workplace. And Mari couldn’t quite fit the pieces into the puzzle. There was too much information lost. Too much it’s impossible to debunk such confusion.

Mari quickly entered the restaurant, tucking her things away in her locker. However, the ambiance of the restaurant was different. The usual night-rush wasn’t there. The cooks and waiters weren’t shouting back and forth, nobody was running around and only the faint smell of a soup was evident in the air.

The restaurant